Sewing machine needle carriers



y 1956 A. M. GARDNER ETAL 2,755,756

SEWING MACHINE NEEDLE CARRIERS Filed May 5, 1954 JNVENTOR. Augusi M Gardner F ranc/s L. Wa/l/ng AT ORNEY WITNESS United States Patent SEWING MACHINE NEEDLE CARRIERS August M. Gardner, Elizabeth, and FrauclsL. Walling,

Bergeufield, N. 1., asslgnors to The Singer Manufacturing Company, Elizabeth, N. J;,. a corporation of New Jersey Application May 5, 1954, Serial No. 427,732

9 Claims. (Cl. 112-226) This invention relates to an improved needle carrier wherein means are provided for accurately positioning and securing one or more needles.

An object of the invention is to provide a needle carrier for supporting a plurality of needles with a common means for engaging and positioning the needles.

A further object of the invention is to provide a needle carrier with means whereby the needle may be readily adjusted endwise of itself and relative to its carrier.

With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear, the invention comprises the devices, combinations and arrangements of parts. hereinafter set forth and illustrated in the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment of the invention from which the several features of the invention and the advantages attained thereby will be readily understood by those skilled. in the art.

Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of a sewing machine needle carrier of the type which is adapted to be used on an overseaming machine.

Pig. 2 represents a front elevation view of the needle carrier disclosed in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 represents a sectional view taken substantially along the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are comparable to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, but they disclose a second form of needle carrier.

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are comparable to Figs. 1', 2 and 3, but they disclose a third form of needle carrier.

The present invention is directed to the construction of a needle carrier and in a preferred form of the invention the needle carrier is adapted to support two curved needles of which one may be adjusted lengthwise of itself and relative to its companion needle so. as to facilitate the proper formation of stitches. Referring first to Figs. 1, 2 and. 3, the needle carrier comprises a conventional needle-bar 10 which is used, for example, on an overseaming sewing machine of the type disclosed in the U. S. Knaus Patent No. 2,238,796, April 1941'. The free end portion of the needle-bar 10' carries a needlesupporting head generally designated by the numeral 11. More specifically, the needle-supporting head 11 includes a needle-support plate 12 formed integrally with the needle-bar 1i) and having projecting therefrom a threaded bolt 13 which is fixed within the needle-support plate 12 in a conventional manner.

Mounted upon the bolt 13 is a centrally apertured clamp collar 14 which is provided in its opposite faces with parallel needle-receiving passages 15 and 16. Each of the passages 15 and 16 is adapted to be aligned with a respective one of a pair of radially disposed parallel passages 17 and 18 provided within the bolt 13.

As may be best seen in Fig. 3, a pair of curved needles 19 and 29 may be positioned within the needle-supporting head and secured therein by means of a nut 21 provided upon the threaded end portion of the bolt 13 so as to clamp the needles rigidly within the supporting head. More specifically, it is to be noted that the needle-receiving passage 15 provided in the clamp collar 14 is shallower than the needle shank diameter so that the nut 21 will bear against the needle thereby to clamp the same within the clamp collar. Also, it is to be noted 2,755,756 Patented July 24, 1956 2 that the needle 20 is engaged by a tongue 22 projecting from the face of the needle-support plate so as to enter the needle passage 18 thereby to engage the needle 20 Projecting from the peripheral portion of the needlesupport plate 12 is a unitary needle abutment bar which is generally designated by the numeral 23. This abutment bar is provided with a pair of abutment surfaces 24 and 25 which are cylindrical in shape and concentric with the longitudinal axis of the abutment bar 23,; Each of the faces 24, 25 is aligned with a respective. one of the needle passageways 15 and 16 and, furthermore, these abutment surfaces are unequally spaced from the longitudlnal axis of the abutment bar and are adapted to be engaged by the needles 19 and 20 in a manner as is, particularly illustrated in Figs. 1- and, 3. The difierence in radii between the abutment surfaces 24 and 25' represents a predetermined optimum adjustment between the needles 19 and 21 so as to facilitate the stitch. formation. The difference in radii between the surfaces 24 and 25. may be varied by substituting different types of abutment bars within the needle-supporting plate.

Referring now to the second form of the present invention and more particularly to Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the needle carrier illustrated therein is exactlythe same. in all details, with the exception of one, to that needle carrier disclosed in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The only diiference between the invention disclosed in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 and that disclosed in the first three figures is in the abutment bar construction. The second form of the invention is designed in a manner such that they relative positions ofthe needles 19 and 20 may be varied without removing the abutment bar from the needle carrier. More specifically, Figs. 4, 5 and 6 illustrate an abutment bar generally designated by the numeral 26, which bar is rotatably mounted within an aperture 27 formed within the peripheral portion of the needle-support plate 12. The. one end ortion of the abutment bar 26 is provided with a needle abutment surface 23 which is formed concentrically with the longitudinal axis of the abutment bar while a second needle abutment surface 29 is formed in the manner of an eccentric as may be bestobserved in Fig. 4.

The free end portion of the abutment bar 26 is. provided with a tool-receiving surface in the form of a screwdriver slot 31 while the other end portion of the abutment bar is threaded so as to receive a nut 31. Since the needles 19 and 20 are each adapted. for engagement with a respective one of the abutment surfaces 28 and 29, it will be appreciated that by rotating the abutment bar about its longitudinal axis the needle 20 may be shifted back and forth within its needle-receiving pas sage. The nut 31 may be loosened to. permit the rotati-ve adjustment of the abutment bar 26 and thereafter tightened to lock the bar in any selective position of rotative adjustment.

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 illustrate a third form of the, present invention and again the needle-supporting head disclosed in these three drawings is substantially the same as that disclosed in the Figs. 1, 2 and 3 and, thus, all the similar elements of these latter figures are numbered in a manner similar to six preceding figures.

By comparing Figs. 6 and 9, it is to be understood that the needle-supporting head disclosed in Fig. 9 utilizes an abutment bar 26 which is the same as that bar employed in Fig. 6. The only difference between the second and third forms of the present invention is that in the latter the free end portion 28 of the abutment bar 26 is rotatably mounted within an aperture 32 formed within a bearing lug 33 made as an integral part of the centrally apertured clamp collar 14. From this, it will be appreciated that the, abutment bar 26 is rotatably mounted in a pair of spaced bearings formed by the the needle passages.

' 3 clamp collar 14 and'the needle-support plate 12. In this connection, it is to beunderstood that in the first two forms of the invention the abutment bars 23 and 26 each cooperates with its associated clamping nut 21 for the purpose of preventing an endwise shift of the needles 19 and 20. In the third form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 7, 8 and 9, the outboard bearing 33 embraces the free end portion of the abutment bar 26 for the purpose of adding rigidity to the bar so that the lattter may better support the needles 19 and 20 against any endwise thrust of the needles which is set up by the movement of the needles through the work material.

From the above, it is to be noted that in each of the three forms of the invention the needles may be set within the needle carrier with great exactness as each needle is brought into engagement with a common abutment bar which positions the needles lengthwise within This abutment bar serves to prevent any possible longitudinal movement of the needles and, furthermore, it permits in two forms of the invention one of the needles to be adjusted longitudinally of the other for the purpose of facilitating the formation of stitches. It is obvious that changes in the details of construction and the arrangements of parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what we claim herein is:

1. ,A sewing machine needle carrier comprising, a needle-bar, a needle-supporting head carried by said needle-bar and having two elongated needle-receiving passages, a unitary cylindrical abutment bar carried by said head and disposed transversely across the ends of said two passages, a pair of needle abutment surfaces formed on said bar and spaced unequally from the longitudinal axis of said bar with each surface disposed in alignment with a respective one of said passages, and means for securing the needles received within said passages in position against said abutment surfaces.

2. A sewing machine needle carrier comprising, a needle-bar, a needle-support plate carried by said needlebar, a threaded bolt projecting from said plate and having two radial needle passages therein, a centrally apertured clamp collar mounted upon said bolt and formed with two needle passages of which each is disposed in alignment with a respective one of the passages of said bolt, a unitary abutment bar projecting from said plate in substantial parallelism with said bolt and disposed transversely across the ends of the passages formed in said clamp collar, a pair of needle abutment surfaces formed on said bar and spaced unequally from the longitudinal axis of said bar with each surface disposed in alignment with a respective one of said collar passages, and a nut mounted upon said bolt for locking the needles received within said passages in position against said abutment surfaces.

3. A sewing machine needle carrier comprising a needle-bar, a needle-supporting head carried by said needle-bar and having two elongated needle-receiving passages, a unitary abutment oar carried by said head and disposed transversely across the ends of said two passages, said bar having two coaxial cylindrical needle abutment surfaces formed thereon about two difierent radii and with each surface disposed in alignment with a respective one of said passages, and means for securing the needles received within said passages in position against said abutment surfaces.

4. A sewing machine needle carrier comprising, a needle-bar, a needle-supporting head carried by said needle-bar and having an elongated needle-receiving passage, a unitary abutment bar carried by and rotatably mounted within said head so as to be adjustable about gits longitudinal axis and being disposed transversely across the end of said passage, a needle abutment surfa'ce' formed in the manner of an eccentric upon said bar 4 and disposed in alignment with said passage, and means for securing the needle received within said passage in position against said abutment surface.

5. A sewing machine needle carrier comprising a needle-bar, a needle-supporting head carried by said needle-bar and having an elongated needle-receiving passage, a unitary abutment bar carried by and rotatably mounted within said'head so as to be adjustable about its longitudinal axis .and being disposed transversely across the end of said passage, means for locking said abutment bar in various selective positions of rotative adjustment, a needle abutment surface formed in the manner of an eccentric upon said bar and disposed in alignment with said passage, and means for securing the needle received within said passage in position against said abutment surface.

6. A sewing machine needle carrier comprising, a needle-bar, a needle-supporting head carried by said needle-bar and having a pair of elongated needle-receiving passages, a unitary abutment bar carried by and rotatably mounted within said head so as to be adjustable about its longitudinal axis and being disposed transversely across the ends of said passages, a pair of needle abutment surfaces formed on said bar with each disposed in alignment with a respective one of said passages, one of said surfaces being cylindrical and concentric with the longitudinal axis of said bar while the other is formed eccentrically of said bar, and means for securing the needles received within said passages in position against said abutment surfaces.

7. A sewing machine needle carrier comprising, a needle-bar, a needle-supporting head carried by said needle-bar and having a pair of parallel elongated needlereceiving passages, a unitary abutment bar carried by and rotatably mounted within said head so as to be adjustable about its longitudinal axis and being disposed transversely across the ends of said passages, said bar being provided at one end with a tool-receiving surface and at its other with means for locking said bar in various selective positions of rotative adjustment, a pair of needle abutment surfaces formed on said bar with each disposed in alignment with a respective one of said passages, one of said surfaces being cylindrical and concentric with the longitudinal axis of said bar while the other is formed eccentrically of said bar, and means for securing the needles received within said passages in position against said abutment surfaces.

8. A sewing machine needle carrier comprising a needle-bar, a needle-supporting head carried by said needle-bar and having an elongated needle-receiving passage, a unitary abutment bar rotatably mounted in spaced bearing elements carried by said head and being disposed transversely across the end of said passage, a needle abutment surface formed in the manner of an eccentric upon said bar and disposed in alignment with said passage, and means for securing the needle received within said passage in position against said abutment surface.

9. A sewing machine needle carrier comprising, a needle-bar, a needle-supporting head carried by said needle-bar and having a pair of elongated needle-receiving passages, a unitary abutment bar rotatably mounted in spaced bearing elements carried by said head and being disposed transversely across the ends of said passages, a pair of needle abutment surfaces formed on said bar and spaced unequally from the longitudinal axis of said bar with each surface disposed in alignment with a respective one of said passages, and means for securing the needles received within said passages in position against such abutment surfaces.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,195,865 Stedman -r Aug. 22,1916 1,309,272 Berger July 8, 1919 

